Juventus meet for Kostas Manolas

The departure of Leonardo Bonucci could force Juve into a search for a new centre-back with Roma’s Kostas Manolas top of the list.

With Bonucci’s departure surprising everyone, it seems the Bianconeri will turn to the market for a new centre-back as they look for additional cover.

Giorgio Chiellini, Daniele Rugani, Andrea Barzagli and Medhi Benatia remain at the club, making them the main candidates for any centre-back pairing, with Benatia and Rugani being the youngest of the four.

Juve had initially looked to defender Mattia Caldara, who enjoyed a superb Serie A season at Atalanta, scoring 7 goals along the way as well as having a strong campaign at the U21 European Championships.

The Bianconeri own the player and outright and he’s on loan at La Dea until next season and there were reports that Juve may look to bring him back early to the club.

That suggestion was subsequently denied by Atalanta President Antonio Percassi who categorically ruled out any idea of Caldara returning to Juve, declaring “He’s staying with us (for the upcoming season).”

Juve will be looking to shore up their defence ahead of the new Champions League campaign as they bid to make it third time lucky, and you can check the latest bookmakers odds to see how Juve are expected to fare in Europe next season.

Attention has now turned to Roma’s young defender, Kostas Manolas, who had previously been expected to head to the Russian Premier League to play for Zenit alongside former teammate, Leandro Paredes.

La Reppublica claim that the Giallorossi have met with Juventus as the Bianconeri are sounding out the possibility of signing the 26-year-old Greek centre back.

The Italian daily reports that Juve director Beppe Marotta met his Roma counterpart, Monchi, at the hotel Regina Baglioni in la capitale last week in an effort to see if they may be persuaded to part with one of their prized assets.

Roma are believed to have asked for €40m for the player which may be considered acceptable by the Bianconeri as they look to add some cover to their back line for the season ahead.

Manolas has played 100 games for Roma since joining the club in 2014, averaging at least 30 appearances each season, scoring three goals in all competitions during his three seasons at the club.

He’s also become a mainstay in the Greek national side regularly playing at the back, earning 30 caps since first debuting back in 2013.